Neither meat nor fish

Neither meat nor fish

We are in an in-between stage. The season not quite winter, not quite spring. Our food should taste especially different now, give us a boost at home. Preferably healthy, to build resistance to viruses. And preferably environmentally friendly, to save the planet too. Mushrooms and caviar, then? TEXT MARJOLEIN SCHUMAN

 

DUTCH EXOTIC ON YOUR PLATE

The uniqueness of the king oyster mushroom is that it does especially well as a single product. Thanks to its size, structure and nutritional value, it can be used as a main ingredient. How about pulled as Limburg stew, chopped on a skewer as satay, or halved in a delicious traybake from the oven? Be sure to also try the recipe Oakfield sent us of very thinly sliced king oyster mushrooms as carpaccio.

We include a wine tip. We already knew the king oyster mushroom as an imported version under the name eryngii. Packed with fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals, this exotic is part of the healthy diet that is now more important than ever. The taste of the Netherlands-grown eryngii is reminiscent of nuts and almonds, and better than imported versions. And the production is entirely sustainable. By comparison: livestock farming accounts for 15 per cent of all CO₂ emissions, or the greenhouse effect.

KAVIAAR

If you want some food that tastes different and gives you a boost, caviar is your buddy. Tiny, glistening eggs that are silky smooth on the tongue. Dark sea salt with a fishy patina and an earthy tone. When you press them against your palate with your tongue, they snap open and cause an explosion of flavour.

Writer Anton Chekhov said of it: 'Ah, caviar! I keep eating it, never get tired of it. Just like olives.' For a Russian to make this statement is not so strange. Caviar belongs to Russia as wine belongs to France. It is in that cold country where the famous Belugasteur finds its breeding ground, since prehistoric times, in the Caspian Sea. A sluggish freshwater fish that has not evolved in 250 million years. This Beluga or Huso Huso is the largest sturgeon of all species, can live to be the oldest and produces the largest eggs, i.e. caviar. A fish more than 100 years old, 8 metres long and 2,000 kilos: have you ever hooked anything like this? If this is still on your bucket list forget it, that chance has sadly gone. The sturgeon is seriously threatened with extinction in its last natural breeding grounds, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, and so there are strict regulations on fishing.

Someone who knows all about black gold is Jeroen Derks. He works at House of Caviar, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary as a Dutch caviar company. They produce, import and distribute caviar and the high-end delicatessen and fine food segment. We fired our questions at Jeroen.

 

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